Education system 'failed Raymond Cho'

THE Education Department has admitted it failed to protect a teenage student who died from allergic reaction after eating a nut-laden cookie.

Raymond Cho

THE Education Department has admitted it failed to protect a teenage student who died from a severe allergic reaction after eating a nut-laden cookie at school.

Raymond Cho, 16, collapsed in May last year a few hours after eating a biscuit an Ashfield Boys' High classmate had made in food-technology class.

The Year 10 student, a "shy boy" from a loving and tight-knit family, was taken off life support in hospital five days after he went into anaphylactic shock in the playground.

At the start of an inquest into his death yesterday, Glebe Coroner's Court heard a statement from department director-general Michele Bruniges offering an "unreserved apology" for the "unimaginable hurt" caused to his family.

"It was believed prior to Raymond's death that the department had in place proper systems to keep children with anaphylaxis safe, but this was wrong," Michael Fordham SC, representing the department, read while facing the teenager's family in court. "Those systems failed Raymond, the people at the school who tried to save him and yourselves."

The 16-year-old's father earlier cried as he held up photographs of his son.

Raymond already had "very little function" when an ambulance rushed him to hospital from the school, where a casual teacher first tried to give him an EpiPen - a shot of epinephrine used to treat life-threatening allergic reactions - but mistakenly fired it into his own thumb, the inquest was told. A successful dose was administered a short time later, but he wasn't given CPR until paramedics arrived.

Counsel assisting the coroner, Warwick Hunt, said school staff knew the student had a severe nut allergy but Raymond appeared to have responded to a "challenge" when the cookies were passed among friends at lunch.

He said the 16-year-old was particularly at risk because he was also asthmatic.

The inquest will examine the policies in place at the time of the death and how well the school implemented them.

A number of changes had been made in policies relating to allergies. Mr Fordham said it was accepted they would come as "small consolation".

All staff are trained in emergency care and dealing with anaphylaxis, and every school is required to run a CPR course each year.

The inquest continues.